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Just Visiting

I spent two days in Abilene this week serving my last year on a visiting committee. The focus was the Graduate School of Theology at Abilene Christian University (Abilene, Texas). (I received a Master of Divinity degree here a number of years ago.)

The role of an visiting committee such as this one is interesting. Basically the committee serves the university and the department by listening to a number of people over a two day period, asking lots of questions, and formulating a document, a report, to give to the department. The department at the university may or may not act on the visiting committee’s recommendations.

I have been thinking the last few days, wouldn’t it be interesting if a "visiting committee" composed of good people spent two days evaluating your or my life. (It might be interesting or terrifying!) What if the visiting committee had as its goal, helping a person become more Christ-like? (Again, I’m just wondering what this might look like).

What about this schedule?

8:00-9:15 Committee meets with spouse and children to try to get a picture of how this person treats his/her family.

9:30-10:45 Committee meets with friends of this person. What is he like as a friend? Dependable? Does he take initiative? Is he trustworthy? What are this person’s blind spots? How does this person handle his/her relationships?

11:00-12:00 Committee examines the financial condition of this person. (Person is asked to submit bank statements and Visa receipts for the past year). The committee will discuss the person’s level of giving (church, special efforts, etc.) for the year.

1:00-2:15 Committee meets with church members. Is he/she a spiritual person? Have you seen this person grow to become more like Jesus? How does this person function in the church? How does he behave when he doesn’t get his way?

2:30-3:30 Committee meets with family doctor, dentist, etc. Is this person a good steward of his body? Is he healthy or unhealthy? Does this person exercise? Does he generally do what you ask him to do in order to take care of his body?

3:45-5:00 Committee meets with group from work (If the person is a minister, the committee will meet with secretaries, assistants, custodians, etc.). Does this person work well? Does he take shortcuts? Does he stay within his budget? Is he considered easy to get along with?

Let’s stop there. Suppose you or I were then to sit down with the committee for a conversation. What might they say as the result of two days of examining my life?